Electrical connectors attached to a carrier tape for the purpose of facilitating the assembly process of the final products are extensively used in the field of production of home appliances. An example of such electrical connectors can be found in Japanese Utility Model No. Publication No. 91-53762. The electrical connectors of this type have an auxiliary wire by means of which the connectors are attached to a carrier tape running between two rows of connecting conductors extending from the housing bottom. This auxiliary wire is located near the center line of the housing bottom so that the chuck feeding the electrical connectors to the circuit boards of the final products can handle them without tilting.
However, some electrical connectors (such as bottom-entry connectors) are intended for connecting together two circuit boards. One example of such connector is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 87-116377. One connector in this connector set (referred to below as the first connector) is mounted to the circuit board located at the top and has a female-type connecting section extending downward (to a circuit board). Another connector (referred to below as the second connector) is mounted to a circuit board located below the first one, and has male contacts which form connection with the female-type connecting section of the first connector via an opening made in the top circuit board.
In order to supply the first connectors attached to a carrier tape, the auxiliary wire posts have to be located at the center line of the housing bottom. However, it is necessary to make through holes in the circuit board for the posts of the first connector which will be located near the opening for the female-type connection section. Making these through holes some distance from the opening and from each other does not create any problem. But when they are close to each other, there is a danger that a crack will appear in the circuit board.
In addition, in the connector described in the above mentioned Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 87-116377, the connector tie-ins are arranged in one row. Therefore, if the contact pitch is decreased, the lands on the surface of the circuit board become too close to each other, and their formation becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. This means that this design is not suitable for a high density devices.
Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to offer a tape-carrier type electrical connector free of the above mentioned disadvantages suitable for high-density applications.